5-15 “It’s true that God is all-powerful,
    but he doesn’t bully innocent people.
For the wicked, though, it’s a different story—
    he doesn’t give them the time of day,
    but champions the rights of their victims.
He never takes his eyes off the righteous;
    he honors them lavishly, promotes them endlessly.
When things go badly,
    when affliction and suffering descend,
God tells them where they’ve gone wrong,
    shows them how their pride has caused their trouble.
He forces them to heed his warning,
    tells them they must repent of their bad life.
If they obey and serve him,
    they’ll have a good, long life on easy street.
But if they disobey, they’ll be cut down in their prime
    and never know the first thing about life.
Angry people without God pile grievance upon grievance,
    always blaming others for their troubles.
Living it up in sexual excesses,
    virility wasted, they die young.
But those who learn from their suffering,
    God delivers from their suffering.

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“God is mighty,(A) but despises no one;(B)
    he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.(C)
He does not keep the wicked alive(D)
    but gives the afflicted their rights.(E)
He does not take his eyes off the righteous;(F)
    he enthrones them with kings(G)
    and exalts them forever.(H)
But if people are bound in chains,(I)
    held fast by cords of affliction,(J)
he tells them what they have done—
    that they have sinned arrogantly.(K)
10 He makes them listen(L) to correction(M)
    and commands them to repent of their evil.(N)
11 If they obey and serve him,(O)
    they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity(P)
    and their years in contentment.(Q)

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